High-level Group of Ministers (GoM) has approved imposing a heavy fine and ban on celebrities who endorse products making unrealistic and dodgy claims

Arun Jaitley

Task Force formed by RBI to re-calibrate all ATMs and cash dispensing machines with the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 currency notes

S S Mundra – Deputy Governor of RBI

Sub-committee of Chief Ministers formed by Central Govt. to review the ground- level situation following its decision to demonetise high value currency and suggest possible ways to ease problems

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu

A committee formed by Central Govt. to form a strategy to expedite the process of transforming India into a cashless economy

Amitabh Kant

Awards/Honours/Achievements – November 2016

Awardees

Award

Kylie Verzosa of Philippines

Miss International 2016

Rekha (Bollywood Actress)

Honoured at Dubai International Film Festival with a Lifetime Achievement Award

S Nihal Singh – Veteran Journalist

‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award’ for his outstanding contribution to journalism – presented by the Press Council of India (PCI)

Im Kwon-taek, the renowned Film Director from South Korea

Honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa

S P Balasubramanyam

Honoured with Centenary award at 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa for his contributions to India cinema

Taylor Swift

Named Highest paid woman in Music for 2016 by Forbes

Amitav Ghosh

Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016 for his outstanding contribution to the Indian literary space

Hadi Abdullah (from Syria)

Has been awarded the prestigious Reporters without Borders (RSF)-TV5 Monde prize for reporting from some of the most perilous zones in his country’s five-year-old war

Kamala Harris

Has become the first ever Indian-American to be elected to the Senate – the US legislature’s upper house

Prof. Raj Bisaria

Will be honoured by Madhya Pradesh Govt. with prestigious ‘Kalidas Samman’ national award for 2015-16 for his achievement in theatre

Pramila Jayapal

Has become the First Indian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives

Roger Federer

Has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award at the ATP awards, for the 12th time in his career

Jackie Chan

Has been awarded an honorary Oscar at the Eighth Annual Governors Awards at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles

Aditi Ashok

Has become first woman Golfer from India to claim a European Tour event

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)

2016 Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Governance

Mark Zuckerberg

Has been named Fortune’s 2016 Business Person of The Year

Mike McCormack

2016 Goldsmiths Prize for his novel Solar Bones

Imtiaz Sooliman (Indian-origin man in South Africa)

Has been awarded the prestigious Global Citizen Award for his “innovative and visionary” contribution to the global community

Gulzar

Will be honoured with this year’s Tata Literature Live! Poet Laureate Award

Pandit Hari Prasad Chourasia

2016 Sumitra Charat Ram Award for lifetime achievement in the field of Indian classical music

Sri Sri Ravishankar

Honoured with “Dr Nagendra Singh International Peace Award”

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand

Was conferred the first ‘World Sanskrit Award’ for her exemplary contribution for the promotion of the language

Akshaya Mukul

Has been awarded the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his book “Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India”

Captain Radhika Menon

India’s first female Merchant Navy captain who has become the first woman to be awarded by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for her exceptional bravery in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous Bay of Bengal waters last year

Peggy Whitson – 57-year old NASA astronaut

Has become the oldest female astronaut to reach the International Space Station (ISS)

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of UAE

Has been presented the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in recognition of his contribution towards promotion of justice and peaceful co-existence

Malini Subramniam

Conferred with the International Press Freedom Award for her reporting from the Naxal-infested Bastar area

Mary Kom

Will receive ‘Legends Award’ from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on their 70th anniversary in December 2016

Akodara village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat

Has earned the title of becoming the 1st digital village in India

Nico Rosberg

Has been crowned 2016 Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion

Iranian film ‘Daughter’

Won the coveted Golden Peacock award at the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

Meetings/Conferences/Summit – November 2016

Event

Venue

47th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

Goa

Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR)

New Delhi

An International Conference on “Decarbonization of Indian Railways – Mission Electrification”

New Delhi

Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties (COP7) to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Golden jubilee (50th anniversary) celebrations of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Hosted by India

New Appointments – November 2016

Person

Designation/Post

Michel Aoun

Elected as President of Lebanon

Sushil Chandra

Took over as Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Kim Byong-joon

Has been appointed as Prime Minister of South Korea

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak (Founder of Sulabh International)

Has been appointed as a brand ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railways

Ranveer Singh – Bollywood Actor

Indian ambassador for Switzerland Tourism

Aniruddha Rajput

Has won a hotly-contested election in the UN General Assembly for membership to International Law Commission, the UN organ tasked with the progressive development of international law and its codification

Chhattisgarh State Govt. has launched a campaign called “Lakshya Bhagirathi” to complete theirrigation projects that could not be completed

Chhattisgarh has become the first state to pass a resolution from its state legislative assembly in support ofdemonetisation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on 8th November 2016

Jammu & Kashmir State Govt. has announced the launch of All Terrain Bike (ATB) programme for meritorious boys of lower economic strata

Jammuand Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has formally launched the World Bank funded mega Rs. 1600 crore Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery project which would give a massive push to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure post 2014 floods in the State

Himachal Pradesh State Govt. has recently approved “Mukhya Mantri Shikshak Samman Yojana”, providing for one year extension in service and cash incentive to teachers who would give 100 per cent results consistently for five years

India’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-driven bus has been launched in Kerala

Kerala has become India’s third open defecation free state (after Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh)

World’s first Genetic Garden of Halophytes(naturally occurring salt-tolerant plants) was inaugurated at the coastal town of Vedaranyam in Kerala

Maharashtra has become the first State in India to launch cyber police stations in all districts

Maharashtra State Govt. in association with the State Child Rights Protection Commission has launched ‘CHIRAG’ mobile application to facilitate submission of complaints of violation of child rights

Maharashtra State Govt. signed an agreement withCanada to implement a joint action plan on urban infrastructure development in the state

Maharashtra has become the first state to adopt Fly Ash Utilisation Policy, paving way for prosperity by generating “wealth from waste”, and environment protection

The Environment Ministry has constituted a four-member committee for conservation of Loktak Lake in Manipur and also assess steps required to make it a UNESCO World Heritage site

The first titanium project of India being established by Saraf Group in Ganjam district of Odisha has started its test production

NHPC announced commissioning of a 50 MW wind power project at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan

Rajasthan State Govt. will start AnnapurnaRasoi Programme, to provide quality meal at cheap price to people belonging to the weaker section and labourers

Sikkim has become first state to start India’s first Cherry Blossom Festival, which is widely celebrated in Japan

Tamil Nadu State Govt. has passed an order to enhance paid maternity leave period for women government employees from six to nine months

The State Govt of Telangana has recently signed a MoU with Microsoft India for developing cloud and mobile based solutions

com, an online travel company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uttarakhand government to promote home stays in the state and to highlight the state’s unique tourist attractions

Saur Sujala Yojana has been recently launched by PM Narendra Modi, that would providesolar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan has been launched by Union Govt. to provide free health check-ups to pregnant women at government health centres and hospitals

Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana has been launched by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurshipto scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters

Health India Initiative, quarterly magazine has been released by Union Health Ministry, that will cater to health related information and will raise awareness about healthy living

Union Health Ministry has launched ‘No More Tension’ app which will help users to manage stress and will also provide information regarding stress, symptoms and its management

Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the world’s largest digital national building initiative “Smart India Hackathon 2017”.Through Smart India Hackathon 2017, HRD ministry is keen on reaching out to all technology institutions in India and challenge students to offer innovative solutions to some of the daunting problems faced by our nation

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani recently distributed PAHCHAN identity cards to artisans of Gujarat. The cards will give national identity to the artisans who will be covered under a national database. The artisans can avail of benefit of any government scheme through these cards

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently had launched the ‘Indian Police at Your Call’ mobile app which is a GIS Map based interface for the citizens to locate police stations near to their current location so that they can easily reach the police station in case of emergency

TheBenami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, designed to curb black money and passed by parliament in August 2016, came into effect from 1st November 2016

The GST Council has decided to have four slabs under the GST regime – 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%

Central Vigilance Commission has now made it mandatory for public sector banks to report to it all fraud cases involving funds over Rs. 1 Crore

City Union Bank(CUB) has become the first bank in India to introduce a robot to deal with customer queries. This robot has been named Lakshmi

Google has tied up with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for 360 degree virtual tour of 280-odd monuments across India

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has become India’sfirst firm to get debt recast under RBI’s new Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)

Corporation Bank has signed an MoU with Indian Army on the Defence Salary Package which will come with a host of facilities, including free insurance cover

Ujjivan Financial Services has got final licence for Small Finance Bank from Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched ‘Startup Mentorship Circle’, a unique platform to help in connecting start-ups with the global marketplace

LinkedIn has announcedthat it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Union Human Resources Development Ministry to create more job opportunities for students across India

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $12 billion loan to Egypt, which is thelargest of its kind so far in the Middle East region

The Reserve Bank of India, after consultation with the government, has allowed Indian banks to raise funds through issuance of rupee-denominated bonds overseas (also calledmasala bonds) within the present limit of 2,44,323 crore set for foreign investment in corporate bonds

Airtel has launched India’s firstPayments Bank. It would provide an interest of 7.25% per annum on deposits

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed opening of “Islamic window” in conventional banks for “gradual” introduction of Sharia-compliant or interest-free banking in the country

Defence News – November 2016

Surya Kiran – X, a joint military exercise between India and Nepal was held from 31st October 2016 to 13th November 2016

‘SAMPRITI 2016’ a joint military exercise was held between India and Bangladesh

“Hand in Hand 2016” a joint training exercise between armies of India and China was held in Pune

India successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile twice in quick succession as part of a user trial by the army from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha

Reports/Index/Study/Research – November 2016

According to a new report by NASSCOM, India has emerged as the world’s third largest start-up base after United States and United Kingdom

According to a new research by UNICEF, almost 90% of the world’s children live in places where outdoor air pollution exceeds WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) limits

As per The Cigarette Package Health Warnings International Status Report , India (requiring 85% pictorial warning) ranked 3rd out of 205 countries, in terms of having largest pictorial warning on tobacco products

London has topped the World’s Best City Brands list, as per Resonance Consultancy’s 2017 global Place Equity Index

India ranked 138th out of 175 countries in the 2016 ICT Development Index (IDI) released by International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

Science & Technology News – November 2016

A new variety of extra early maturing variety ofarhar, a pulse also called toovar, has been developed by scientists of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. It has been named as PUSA-Arhar 16

NASA is developing an instrument called ‘Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument’ (‘BILI’) to sniff out signs of life on Mars

NASA has successfully completed building the largest space telescope named James Webb Space Telescope which will succeed 26-year old Hubble Space telescope

NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS — that is giving scientists new insight into Earth’s magnetosphere — now holds the Guinness World Record for highest altitude fix of a GPS signal

Compound named Gelator has been developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram, to help in recovering marine oil spill in a cost effective and efficient manner

Japan has launched a next-generation geostationary meteorological satellite “Himawari-9,” aiming to further improve meteorological services in the Asia-Pacific region

Scientists have detected the presence ofwater on Psyche, the largest metallic asteroid in our solar system

As stated by Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO)Chairman AS Kiran Kumar, India’s ambitious South Asian satellite, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the benefit of SAARC members, will be launched in March 2017

NASA has launched next-generation weather satellitecalled GOES-R which is said to revolutionize weather forecasting

India became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory and best known as operator of the Large Hadron Collider, which found the elusive Higgs boson in 2012

Sports Bits – November 2016

Lewis Hamilton has won Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix

India’s Pratul Joshi has won theBahrain International Challenge badminton tournament

Indian women’s hockey team beat China in final match to win 2016 Asian Champions Trophy

Andy Murray has won Paris Masters title

Bastab Tapan Bordoloi fromAssam’s Jorhat district has won five gold medals and a silver at the recently concluded South Asian Aquatic Championship (SAAC) in Sri-Lanka

Boxer MannyPacquiao has reclaimed the WBO welterweight title for the third time

Competing in the youth category at the junior nationals, Tejaswin Shankar has broken the senior national record in the high jump

India’s women’s carrom team has defeated Sri Lankato win the gold at the 7th World Carrom Championship in UK

Lewis Hamilton has won Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

Padmini Rout has won National Women Premier Chess Championship for third time

P V Sindhu has won China Open Badminton Series

Tennis Player Andy Murray has won ATP World Tour Finals Title

Indian Chess GrandmasterViswanathan Anand clinched the 2016 Champions Showdown in St Louis, United States

Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar wins2016 Indonesia Open

Boxer Sachin Singh won gold medal in the AIBA Youth World Championships